5 party mingling don'ts!

-On the radio this morning with my buddies Bill and Allison! I gave them my "5 Party Mingling Don'ts" for this coming holiday weekend!

 Parties are an awesome place to meet people! You could walk away with a new BFF, a date, or just warm fuzzy feelings from a great night with friends! Here are some things to make sure you DON'T do!

1. DON'T- be a space invader (getting too close when talking to someone) 2-3 feet is a good conversation space.
2. DON'T- hog the conversation!! when people don't look interested time to stop talking!
3. DON'T- over do it on the adult beverage! This rarely looks cool. Especially when the person in question keeps claiming that they are not at their limit.
4. DON'T- double dip in mixed company! Going for the hummus, guacamole, and 7 layer dip with the same chip!
5. DON'T- Gossip! Parties are great for "overhearing" things. When you don't know everyone at the party, If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!

A piece of history in my home!

This weekend I got a new piano! Did I say new? i should have said it is new to ME! It's actually the opposite of new! It was formerly in the reception room at the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Kankakee. -but who knows where it was before that! It was made around 1870-1880! It is older than the Titanic! I love imagining the people who might have played it before me!

Here are a few pictures! The pictures really don't show all of the detail in it's full glory though. If anyone wants to check it out in real life you are so welcome to come over! It is totally worth seeing in real life!

The next step is getting it tuned! I've read that tuning these piano's is no easy job! Hopefully I can find someone willing to take it on... I'm not too worried about that quite yet though,  just so happy to have it in my dinning room for now!

Thanks for reading!!
-Stacy

My awesome friend, who totally just "gets it" about what I'm into...gave me a couple of things she had laying around to turn from drab to fab! Here's a before picture of a kitchen chair she gave me that she got from an auction!

 Here is an "after" picture! Well, I'm totally impatient, and I don't have a staple gun to really put the fabric on yet, so it is duct taped to the chair pad for now! haha!! The paint still needs a 2nd coat too, I was just too exited to share it with you!

If I can get this baby totally finished, I will be selling it at Schuyler Live at the farmer's market this weekend! I just need to get my paws on a staple gun!! I mean, who doesn't love one-of-a-kind chairs here and there in their home? I know I LOVE THEM! I have this weird "thing" for chairs... I can't have too many! This chair would be adorable in a young girl's bedroom, or as a make-up/powder room chair, or in the corner of a funky/stylish living room! or any other place that needs something colorful!

Living room style!!

OK! You demanded it...here it is again! My 5 tips for an amazing living room! (this is what I talked about on WKAN this morning if you missed it!)

1. PAINT- sets depth and mood! blue, green, and violet can enlarge a room...think infinity pool, or a stretched landscape. It's also a cheap makeover!

2. TEXTURE- I loooove wall paper! In modern prints of course! Not on every wall, maybe just one focal wall, or in a large frame, maybe even on the back wall of a bookcase! You can also add texture with modern printed curtains!

3. MIRRORS- Mirrors are my favorite thing about life! light can bounce around a room with mirrors, they can enlarge your space, and reflect other things you love about your room! LOVE THEM!

4. TRASH TO TREASURE FURNITURE- People throw away amazing stuff! A little bit of spray paint and new hardware can give you the gift of a vintage/modern one-of-a -kind piece! These pieces add a huge amount of character mixed in with your normal store bought pieces, don't be too matchy-matchy!

5. PHOTOS- Everyone can be an artist these days! -And we know wall art can be pretty pricey! Eclectic frames in a cluster on the wall with old photos are so fun! I also LOVE to turn a photo to black and white and blow it up to a poster size and find a fun frame for it! Here's one that I blew up to poster size of my girls making funny faces at each other while in one big can-can skirt! (This pic was taken by Ashley Poskin who is amazing with a camera! You need to plan a photo shoot with her when she is in town, she has amazing style!!)

Thanks for letting me share with you!
-Stacy